Device for clearing obstructions from railway tracks



A. FRANZ.

DEVICE FOR CLEARING OBSTBUCTIONS FROM RAILWAY TRACKS.

map sums. I92!- I I I 1 T1 In" Patented Dec, 19, 192E.

rats

I AUGUST FRANZ, OFGARFIELD, NEVT JERSEY.

Application files September 13,1921. Serial No. 500,406.

f0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, AUGUs'r FRANZ, a c1t1- zen of Poland, residing at Garfield, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Clearing Obstructions from Railway Tracks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide means for removing from railway tracks obstacles, such as nuts, bolts and the like,

Figure 2 is a front elevation of what is shown in Fig. 1, but on a larger scale;

Figure 3 is a plan, only a fragment of the truck appearing;

Figure t is a sideelevation of the device and one of the rails; and

Figure- 5 illustrates a detail.

To the under side of the frame a of the railway truck seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are attached, a suitable distance apart, forwardly projecting brackets or hangers b. They are preferably secured to the truck by bolts 0, one or more washers d being interposed between them and the truck frame if required so as to bring the fender devices hereinafter referred to the proper distance above the rails to act most effectively.

These brackets are connected at their forward ends by the transverse shaft 6 which may be kept against endwise movement by the set screws 7 tapped into the brackets. llach end of this shaft overhangs one of the rails y of the railway.

On each end of the shaft is fulcrunied the aforesaid fender device It, the same being kept against lateral shifting by the collars j and nuts Each fender device is a lever whose lower arm or fending portion h is curved rearwardly and has its lower end arranged obliquely to the track (Fig. 3), its point or extremity being preferably not forward of the vertical plane of the axis of movement, of the device, whereby such point can be arranged ivery close to the top of the corresponding rail 9 and yet not have its movement opposed by the rail when the device moves backward on its fulcrum. The other arm 71, extends upwardly from the fulcrum portion of the lever.

On each bracket or hanger Z) is suitably fixed an arm is which projects laterally back of the upper arm of the corresponding fender device, which in normal position bears against said arm is which forms a stop therefor. The fender devices are held normally bearing against their stops 7:: by the following means: The upper arm of each such de vice has a hole a formed therein, the same being preferably enlarged, as at a, at the outer side of the arm. These holes are penetrated by the rod 0 which has a knob 0 to seat in the enlargement n of one hole and a spherical nut 0 to seat in the enlargement of the other hole, the nut being screwed onto the rod. The rod thus couples together the upper arms of the two levers, but in such a manner that either lever can move on its fulcrum independently of the other, the joint betweeneach lever and the bar being a universal one. The rod is connected with some fixed part on or of the truck frame, as the brackets or hangers b, by

spring means p. I y a In operation the two fender devices stand as in Fig. 1, being held upright against the stops is by the means 0, 19. They are adjusted to such an elevation that their lower ends will be very close to the rails-sufiiciently close that they will engage and remove from the rails such obstacles as nuts, boltsand the like that are small but yet might cause derailment of the vehicle on its encountering them. If either fender device should engage the end of a rail possibly set a little higher than the neigl'iboring rail, as at A. in Fig. 4, it will yield backwardly until such obstruction has been passed, and this, moreover, without moving the other fender device out of position to remove an obstacle that might happen to be present on theother rail.

The arm i of each fender device is made of sufiicient breadth so as to extend across the full width of the corresponding rail regardless of any lateral lost-,motion of the truck on the rails and of the curvature of the rails.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is I In combination, wlth a railway vehicle of the class having a pair of WllGGlStO respec-' vices on the vehicle having stops limiting the forward movement of said devices, a bar connecting said devices 7 and having a universal-j oint connection with each of them, and spring means connected'vvith the bar and holding sai'ddevicesiagainst the stops.

'In testimony whereof IafiiX my signature.

AUGUST FRANZ. 

